A Bright Spot in a Dark World
by CaitlinWalker
Summary: S5 AU FIC: The world of espionage is a dark one. Can Annie truly put the past behind her? And will parenthood enable Arthur and Joan to look towards a new chapter of their lives?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: It was only a matter of time before I wrote an AU S5 fic. This is set after the epic 4x16, picking up where we left off. As always I do not own this wonderful show and full credit must go to the cast and crew who do. Thank you for reading and if you wanna leave a review (which would be very much appreciated and loved) there is a box right at the bottom for you to do so. Thanks y'all!**

**#**

_A bright spot in a dark world._

It wasn't that long ago that she would have laughed at that phrase. Her marriage had been rocky, work had been hard and, even so much as a few days ago, she was feeling as weak and as vulnerable as she had ever felt, pregnancy hitting her hard and relentlessly. Then, on the 22nd of November, the miracle happened. The devil, Henry Wilcox, died and an angel, little Mackenzie Campbell arrived early but healthy. And perfect. And made her world better and made everything, all the pain and hardship and the late night bathroom trips absolutely worth it.

Watching Arthur finally hold his boy for the first time was worth it in itself. It had taken two days before he was allowed to, the pain and swelling in his arm from his stabbing finally subsiding enough for him to hold little Mac without the fear of dropping the boy. Her husband was still in pain which did hurt her to see but seeing the smile on his face spoke volumes. "Hey son."

Tears formed in her eyes, her smile just as wide as his.

"So now that you're finally out of your momma's hands, we can get down to business." He chuckled as Mackenzie grabbed his index finger. "One, you're allowed your first beer on your sixteenth as long as you promise not to tell your mother." Arthur paused to glance up at Joan and flash a cheeky smile. "Two, you will not be a fool like your dada is and support the Nationals. I would not wish to inflict that pain on anyone. And three? You'll always treat your mother like the angel she is. I know you will do that anyway but still."

"Arthur…" She wasn't quick enough to stop the tear from running down her face.

"Because your mother would do anything for you – we both would. But she was the one who took a chance on a fool like me. I've made many a mistake in my time but she never once gave up on me. Or us. I'm by no means perfect and there'll come a time where you'll hear about how 'nobody is'. Well, whoever tells you that? Ignore them. It's all lies. Because she is perfect. But," he leaned down so that his nose nearly touched his son's and whispered. "Don't dare tell her that I ever said that. Our little secret, eh? High five?"

Joan chuckled, wiping her tears away as she watched, mesmerized as her son grabbed Arthur's finger again. "He'll get there, honey."

"Even if he doesn't, I'll still love him. 'Cause how can you not? I mean, this little guy is wonderful."

"Just like you then." Just like his father in so many ways. Even though she had read enough baby books to know that the colour of their boy's eyes could change within the first few months, maybe even years before they settled on a colour, there was just something that told her that those deep, captivating blues would stay. That, combined with the little tuft of dark hair, he was going to be the spitting image of his father.

A male voice preceded a gentle knock on the door to their private room. "Mrs Campbell?"

Joan wasn't intentionally being rude but she couldn't take her eyes off of her complete family as she answered. "Hmm?"

"There's someone at reception to visit you."

"That's OK. Send them in."

"I'm not sure that they're on the visitor list."

Now Joan looked at the young nurse. "Well, who is it then?"

"They, uh," the poor guy was all of a sudden flustered, "It sounds weird but she was a, uh, a little confused."

"Are they still there?"

"Yes ma'am."

She nodded, swinging her legs over the side of the bed which prompted Arthur to look up. "Where are you going?"

"To go and see for myself," she said, bending down to kiss Mackenzie's forehead and then Arthur's lips. "Be back in a minute."

"We're missing you already," Arthur grinned.

"Yeah, right. No doubt you two will be planning his eighteenth in my absence."

"Absolutely. Maybe his twenty-first too if we have time."

Joan smiled, taking one last look at the two most important guys in her life bonding before she turned, following the nurse to an fairly empty looking reception. She scanned those who were about, looking for a familiar face – she found none.

The nurse only confirmed what she already knew by leaning over the counter and asking one of his colleagues before he turned back to her. "I'm sorry for this, ma'am. She was here earlier."

"Did _she_ leave a name?" Joan too was stumped. The visitor list was small what with her three sisters, her mother and the girl who had done so much for them, Annie, being the only females on that list.

"No ma'am. We asked her but she seemed a little…I don't know, confused?"

She nodded, shivering in the cold hospital, wishing that she had seen the sense to grab one of her husband's sweaters that she had packed initially for him, never expecting she'd be needing them herself as she never once anticipated how quickly she could go from nearly losing everything to suddenly having all she ever wanted in life. Life could be funny like that. From nearly losing Arthur to gaining a son. Life could be freaking hilarious at times. "What did she look like?"

"Uh, brunette? About your height? She didn't say that much. She just asked for you."

"Specifically?"

"Yep. Knew your kid's name too."

"My son?"

"Yep."

Just like the missing piece of her family had seamlessly clicked into place with baby Mac, that final puzzle piece of the big mystery surrounding the girl, solved it. _Annie. It had to be Annie__.__ But her disappearance raised more questions than it answered. _"Well, if you do see her again, just send her through, it's perfectly fine."

"You know her?"

Oh, Joan knew Annie Walker all too well. It was Jessica Matthews was now an enigma. "I do. So please, if you see her?"

"No problem, ma'am. Have a good day."

Joan smiled and nodded before turning and heading back down that corridor that now seemed a lot longer when she had something amazing waiting for her at the end of it.

Only this time amazing didn't even come close to covering it.

Even doped up on painkillers, Arthur Campbell could still carry a tune. And when he was cradling his new-born son, managing to rock him gently as he sang a lullaby as she watched from the door? It was so much more than amazing.

The best part of it all? It was now her life.

# # #

He rubbed his tired eyes before he dragged fingers through his tangled locks. "Calder, if this is a joke, now is not the time."

"You think this is some kind of joke?" Calder Michaels growled, his footsteps that were growing louder and louder telling Auggie that the new temporary DCS was close.

"Well it's the only explanation that I can think of as to why Annie's not home right now."

"I'm not joking Anderson. I wish I was joking."

"Why? So your tenure as DCS doesn't begin with losing an operative? An operative that should have been home yesterday until you changed the plans."

"The poor girl's been through hell and back. One night at a hotel before her flight back to DC doesn't jeopardise plans, for God's sake. She needed a rest. I was doing her a favour."

"She needed to be home, Calder. Not in some hotel and certainly not on a different flight. Home. And now, because of you, she's off the grid."

Calder sighed and Auggie heard the creaking of his chair as he sat down. "We'll find her."

Auggie frowned. "And if we don't?"

Calder completely dodged the question. "Look. We've gotta play this by ear. If we don't receive word from Walker by tomorrow morning then we'll look into this. And if we don't, we know where to start. We know that she was on that plane, so we know that's she back on home soil."

"Yeah, all fifty states of it."

The DCS sighed, resigned to the fact that he was never going to win. "It's getting late. Go home and get some rest. We'll see what position we're in tomorrow, OK? Then we'll decide the best course of action."

Auggie didn't say another word, knowing that he too was never going to win. He stood, grabbed his cane and headed out the door, headed home. Although he doubted he'd catch a wink of sleep tonight.

# # #

Sleep the past few days hadn't depended on his level of tiredness – if that were the case, he'd have happily slept for the entire duration of those days. No, instead they had depended on stabbings, contractions and the sleeping patterns of a little man who had no respect or concerns for the sleeping patterns of his exhausted parents. It was a good job the boy was so adorably cute and perfect that he managed to get away with it.

But tonight, a little after midnight, it was none of those that had woken Arthur and Joan. It was a phone call, which at this hour Arthur doubted was a congratulatory one.

"Who was it, honey?" He asked as Joan hung the phone up.

She stared off into the distance for a moment or two before she blinked, and turned to Arthur who, like the past few nights, had managed to squeeze in beside her in her single hospital bed. "That was Auggie."

"Auggie?" He repeated. "Everything OK?"

Joan took another few seconds to herself before she answered. "No…Annie's missing."


	2. Chapter 2

"_Annie's missing."_

It hadn't been the words themselves that had haunted him since that phone call just past the stroke of midnight; rather it had been his wife's tone. Distant and pained, it had made him wait until she had drifted asleep that night, just in case she needed him, before he too nodded off for the day.

He woke to find her up and cooing over Mackenzie at the foot of the bed.

"Hey." She glanced briefly over, sensing him stirring before Mac stole her focus again, much like he had her heart. Arthur was all too aware that he'd always play second fiddle to his son from now on. Yet this was one little guy he didn't mind his wife cheating on him with. "Daddy's up. What's that? No sweetie, it is not a coincidence that the snoring has stopped. Nope, not at all. After a few years with him, you learn to tolerate him – or learn that giving him a good elbow in the ribs works just as well."

Arthur pouted before breaking into a smile, relived to see his wife both in better spirits after that phone call last night and more so overjoyed to see something he'd long thought that she'd never be. A mother. "You know, it's cute when I talk to him like that. It's even cuter when you do it."

She smiled shyly at him before picking up her son. "You'll get used to daddy's modesty at some point, I swear."

"No he won't," Arthur laughed as he tried to sit up, the sharp pain in his arm and shoulder returning after a fairly comfortable night's sleep. "Darn it…"

His cry had turned Joan's head. "Arthur?"

"It's OK, I'm good."

His mumbles did little to reassure her and she quickly came across, baby in arms. "You don't sound good, babe. You sure you want to go home today? If you're not up to it-."

"I am," he nodded. "I am up to it. It's...I mean I'm not gonna lie. I'm still in a hell of a lot of pain but it's good. It means that I'm still alive. It means I still have you. You two," he added as he reached for her arm. "And that's worth all the pain in the world."

Joan perched on the bed, carefully as she was mindful of the child who was already falling asleep in her arms. He looked the perfect little picture of peace and all that was right in a very dark world. A world that had threatened all three of their lives, not to mention the lives of those they cared about. Mackenzie Campbell was too innocent and pure for such a world. That was why Arthur, and he was sure his wife would join him, in protecting that lad as much as they could from that murky world. Give him the luxury that they didn't have. "As long as you're OK. It hurts to see you like this, Arthur. If you need to stay a few more days then that's absolutely fine. We'll stay too."

"Sweetheart," he rested his head on her shoulder. "If I didn't think that I was up to it, I wouldn't take the risk."

"You promise?"

Arthur nodded, looked her in her tired eyes. "I promise you."

"OK," she said. "But please tell me if you need me – don't let your pride get in the way of your health. I need you, Arthur," her voice quivered, a rare crack in the Joan Campbell armour. "We both need you."

"Hey," he whispered. "I'm not going anywhere, OK? You're not gonna get rid of me that easily. I'm here forever. And ever and ever and ever," he paused to take a breath. "And ever." He hoped that would elicit a smile or perhaps even a laugh but it did neither, her face remaining an impassive mask.

"You know me, I bottle things up. I prefer to face battles alone due to that goddamn stubbornness that I let rule me. During the pregnancy I…I was scared. Terrified."

_Scared. Terrified. _Two words his wife never used in vain. Tears built in her eyes, sad tears that Arthur didn't want to see fall. Brushing strands of her hair away from her forehead, he tucked them behind her ear for her. "I'm sorry."

Shaking her head, she carried on. "It's not your fault. No, not at all. It's, it's…it all felt too good to be true, you know? We try for years and years for this to happen – nothing. Truth be told I thought that all of this had passed us by and then, out of the blue-."

"The pee-stick turns blue?"

She wasn't quick enough to stop the smile spreading across her lips at his silly quip, a laugh even escaping. She looked grateful for it and the weight that it lifted off a serious and pained conversation. "Kinda yeah. So, that happened and then everything else did. All at once. It'd be difficult enough without the small matter of having a little human growing inside of me. It was hard enough without having you."

He slowly nodded as he glanced down at the bundle of blankets in her arms, wishing that he could have been able to have done more these past few months, wishing that they could have truly went through this experience together. Fake affairs, jails and house arrests and the tragic loss of his first born, Teo, had all put a stop to that. He had only just managed to be there for the birth, surviving that attempt on his own life. "It's gonna be easier now. I'm here."

"I know, I know. And you know how thankful I am for that. And I am happy, I truly am and I've never been happier but I, I can't…I can't help but feel guilty for being so happy right now. Especially when…" She tailed off, not wanting to say it again.

So Arthur did. "Annie's missing?"

She nodded solemnly.

"I feel the same too. But there's nothing we can do about it."

Joan averted his gaze, taking her time to choose her words as she gently stroked Mackenzie's forehead with her thumb. "The more I think about, the more I think that girl yesterday was Annie."

_The unnamed brunette who knew left without even saying hello, never mind goodbye. _Joan had been certain about it yesterday and her gut instincts were usually pretty spot on. But if it was Annie, and it was by no means certain that it was, it really raised more questions than it answered. "The more you think about it, the more cut up you're gonna be. Let the guys back at Langley handle this. They'll find her."

"And if they don't?"

"Then Walker will show up some other way. You know her. She always does."

"Yeah…yeah, I'm being silly."

"No. You care. There's a difference. And that's what makes you a terrific friend, a wonderful wife and an already fantastic mother."

Her cheeks crimsoned in only the way he made them. She smiled and, after a few seconds, managed to meet his dark eyes. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For just being you and being there when I need you."

He too let a smile spread on his lips. "Anytime."

# # #

Every time he came into this office he was hit by more and more bad news. First it had been Annie going off the grid, and then it had been for the official decision to pronounce her as missing. He should have been expecting more bad news the second he had stepped foot into Calder's new office, which he had already begun to settle into judging by the lavender scented air-freshener.

"Walker's passport, credit cards and phone were found in the ladies room of Reagan National," Calder sighed as he slumped into his chair.

"So, we're not even looking for Jessica Matthews now. We're looking for nobody. Great," Auggie muttered. "Fantastic. Your tenure as DCS is off to a flier."

"Hey, why the hell do you keep blaming me, Anderson?"

"I told you, yesterday. You should have stuck to the plans you agreed on with Joan. You know the plans that would have gotten Annie home by now?" Auggie shook his head in disbelief that this was even happening. They'd been to hell and back in Hong Kong. America should have been the easy bit.

"Barber's running footage from the immediate area-."

"Around an airport? Sorry, from around one of the busiest airports in America? Yeah, I should go and wish him good luck on that one. 'Cause he'll need it."

"I'm sorry, Auggie but that's all we've got to go on right now."

Shaking his head, Auggie muttered as he stood to leave. "Yeah, yeah. Of course you are."

"Where are you going?"

"Away to wish Barber good luck. And to offer him my help – since as we're not going to see anything, we might as well see nothing together, right?" For once, he didn't find his quip funny. He didn't even smile at it. He wouldn't smile until he knew that she was safe and back home.

Maybe he might not smile again.

# # #

Things may have changed over time but some things didn't. For instance, how her husband of nearly ten years still managed to send those butterflies in her stomach into a crazy frenzy every time he said those three little words or called her beautiful. Or how he'd always let her have the remote even when there was something on that he wanted to watch. Or how, like she was doing right now, she'd never get tired of watching him sleep, the steady rising and falling of his chest as hypnotizing and mesmerising as it was nearly ten years ago.

She loved watching him sleep but clearly someone didn't.

"It's OK, I've got this," Joan whispered, patting Arthur's chest gently as Mackenzie's cries made him stir.

"You got the last one…" Arthur muttered groggily.

"And you got stabbed recently, mister," she remarked as she hopped out of bed for the third time that night. Well, morning now. The illuminated digital display read 5:47, a mere hour since she'd last gotten Mac back off to sleep and consequently struggled to do so herself since. "So stay, please. There'll be plenty of time for you to make up for it later, don't worry."

"OK, OK…" He slowly mumbled, already drifting back off. God, she envied him as she gently lifted her son out of the bassinet at the bottom of their bed, rocking him in her arms and padding out of the bedroom, so not to disturb Arthur. She may envy her husband but he needed his rest. Wailing babies would not help him.

"Hey, hey, hey…" She whispered softly as she got him downstairs and into the living room. "Mommy's here, it's alright."

His cries continued.

"Sweetie, c'mon," she said before trying to hush the poor guy and rattling though her mind what it could possibly be that was upsetting him. He'd been fed and changed the last time, so rhythmically stroking his delicate little nose, she was hoping that'd do the trick. It didn't but the boy grabbing her finger with no intention of ever letting it go did instead. "You're gonna give that back, right? No? Man, you're just like your daddy. Absolutely, totally adorable. Hey!" She grinned as he lost interest in her index finger and grabbed her pinkie instead. "Infuriatingly adorable…your daddy would be proud." _Prouder_. Arthur was already was the proudest guy around.

Absorbed by the incredible look of contentment on her son's face, it took a few more seconds for the disturbance coming from outside to register. A few more seconds due to her own reluctance to think of anything more than her perfect little guy. A few more seconds before it hit her that she was nearly gunned down in this very house almost a week ago. The wall forever stained by the cleaning solutions that had burned the blood of her would-be assassin's off the cream décor, not the only reminder of that scare – the memory of that morning forever engrained in her mind.

She couldn't take the chance. Not with this much to lose.

"Ssssh…." It was as if Mackenzie sensed her sudden unease, starting to whimper as she lowered him down into the bassinet by the sofa. "Mommy will be back in a minute, OK sweetie?"

It clearly wasn't and his wails were growing louder.

"Please sweetie," she whispered as she heard another noise from outside. Another noise she couldn't ignore. It sounded like footsteps. Clumsy footsteps. And at 6 am combined with recent events? It was a reason why Joan had to let her son cry alone as she reached for her sidearm located in a drawer nearby as she slipped out of the front door to investigate.

She refrained from calling out, instead opting for a low profile approach, Glock drawn to the ground. Measured step by measured step, she thought she had just imagined it. Maybe she was paranoid. After everything, she could be forgiven for her paranoia. Then she heard the crunch of gravel and she made a half turn, catching the escaping figure.

The slim, female and brunette escaping figure. And she lowered her gun.

"Annie?"


End file.
